RSSThe iPhone SDK: Could this be a movement?
By Tim Conneally | Published March 12, 2008, 6:42 PM
Apple announced today that the iPhone SDK was downloaded over 100,000 times in the first four days. So with the documentation officially "out there," what comes next for the developer?
JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg said today, "This is super important because if even just a fraction of those downloads yield product, there's going to be a pretty complete catalog of applications available come June. Considering that iPhone wasn't a software platform as recently as week ago, this is really important news and bodes well for the iPhone/iPod Touch ecosystem."
It will also mean a tremendous amount of revenue for Apple. In the unlikely event that everyone who downloaded the SDK so far produced a single app, the one-time fee for enrollment in the developer program -- mandatory to have your application listed and sold in the App store -- would total $10 million in revenue for Apple.
Even more money can be made from enterprise-level developers who want to develop proprietary apps. The one-time fee for enterprise developers is three times higher. With enrollment in the program, Apple avails realtime testing and debugging as well as technical support from Apple engineers.
But the potential profits necessitate more regulations, and this raises an important and troubling question: Can a development community flourish within the rigid guidelines Apple is famous for establishing?
Almost as soon as the SDK was released, it became apparent to bloggers and op-ed columnists that Apple does not want applications to be developed that could infringe upon specific revenue streams from which the device was originally intended to draw. Understandably, VoIP apps running on EDGE are not allowed, as both Apple and AT&T would suffer from lost revenue.
But another limitation that has been brought up on numerous forums is the debarring of applications that run in the background. The SDK states that applications must quit when the user closes them.
While that is an impediment certain applications can work around, the license limitations also put forth a much more restrictive guideline: "An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise."
Furthermore, developers must agree to confidentiality before even downloading the SDK. By signing the agreement, the developer asserts that he will not disclose any confidential information to anyone other than registered iPhone developers working within the same firm. This mandatory non-disclosure puts undue burden on creative communication.
A community for iPhone application developers has already sprouted form, from the prior need for non-Apple iPhone software to be Web-based. That group had actually laid out its own iPhone development standards. In all likelihood, a similar group will come together by June. But for now, developers still have to wait for Apple to tell them what to do.
It will be interesting to see whether some of these limitations are trial balloons or not.
I hope that they are, and that Apple continues to iterate their SDK strategy until they hit the sweet spot required to decisively win the hearts and minds of the developer community.
Apple’s***ory with developers gives some reason for skepticism, something that I recently blogged about in, ‘The Scorpion, the Frog and the iPhone SDK.’
Check it out if interested:
http://thenetworkgarden....03/the-scorpion-th.html
Cheers,
Mark
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|??? I don't see any of this as a real issue, in fact I think it enforces the discipline to limit features to those only cognitively relevant to the user and the application. Less is more. Nothing running in background, no auto install... will keep users from being swampped w/ feature overload.
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|It can be worked around. But probably wont meet the license agreement thus getting put into the installer.app program, which is fine.
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|The "no background applications" is a surefire way to kill instant messaging on the iPhone since there's no reasonable way to stay logged in while using other aspects of the phone.
Guess I'll stick with my Windows Mobile Phone.
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|yes, you're right. I don't like the way apple thinks different. I preffer my Sony Ericsson with Opera Mini.
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|I prefer to wish i didnt have my sony ericsson. Its always having issues.
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|Nearly every phone these days seems to have issues. I love all the extra features, but it REALLY bugs me that the cost of those features has been a reliable phone. My V3x has started crashing all the time when I call or message - and it's been the last one of all my friends' V3xs to go. Symbian Nokias are just as bad, with 30 second load times just to read a message...
I desperately hope my next phone (probably a PDA) works first as a phone, then as a gadget/toy.
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|I echo that statement. My windows mobile phone(Samsung SCH-I760) needs reset at least once a day. More if I use a lot of applications throughout the day. I got it because I misheard that WM phones were more stable than palms. As soon as I can afford it, I'm getting another treo/centro.
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|I have the HTC VX6800 and maybe once a week reset. I installed alot of software and also have AV on it.. Like there are virus right?
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|Me and several ppl in the periphery have win mobile (5 & 6) and not such issues. Maybe need to reboot once a week but I'm running some funky alpha soft on it and that's the price you pay.
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